Visiting My Library

I, shamefully, have not stepped into a public library in (cough) more years than I can remember.  Why?  I'm a book hoarder.  I typically buy books and then read them.  If I don't like them, they get shipped to my librarian best friend, Beth, who ships them sometimes around the world.  If I do like them, they are placed on my IKEA shelves in my office to be read and reread until the binding breaks. 

This Saturday, my shadow crossed the doorway of the Southeast Branch library in St. Johns County.  Clad in gym clothes and carrying a camera (my standard battle gear), I set out to find what this particular branch had to offer.  I specifically looked for: ESL, community uses, classrooms, teaching, special needs collection.

Being a teacher, I forget what quiet sounds like.  Classroom quiet is very different from library quiet.  Once I got over the initial discomfort of the lack of sound, I noticed classrooms/conference rooms immediately.  To the right, was the library.  Inside, I noted several areas.  There was a teen lounge, an audio book section, the standard fiction and non-fictions sections, as well as a reasonably extensive children's area.  Computers were found in several locations around the branch. 

It was quiet easy to locate the community uses for the library.  The building had two classroom/conference room areas which were used for the programs that the library offered.  Online there was quiet a few listings for events that the library hosts, and these events and services were confirmed by the reference librarian that I spoke with.  Some of the events that the library hosts or are planning to host are: AARP Tax Assistance classes, story time for babies, toddlers, and families, yoga experience class, Read to Rover (live dog on site), Japanese Fairy Tale Theate, Wii Games, Dr. Seuss' Birthday party, Middle Eastern Dance Class, COPD health class, and other community programs.  

 

Calendar of Events

One of the classrooms

Another classroom

 

The special needs section mostly was found in the children's section.  There were a few shelves with braille books.  In the adult section, there was quite a selection of audio books available (uh hum, I did spot some Evanovich in that selection that might make all the driving I do bearable). There were also a few large print book selections.

Braille book section

 

 

 

 The hardest section to find was for ESL.  I even spoke with the reference librarian and she directed me to three books about teaching students who are ESL.  In order to find something that related to ESL, I found the section of books on languages.  After my visit, and seeing all of the neat classes offered and the selection of audio books, I may have to make a library trip a part of my weekly schedule.

Lo-Tech Writing Tool Kit

I taught Kindergarten for a few years before I was promoted (ha ha ha) to teaching 4th grade.  However, this year, I find that I am using lots of the tools that I used when I taught kindergarten when it comes to writing.  I teach many kids who have OT issues, and therefore tend to have a reluctance to write at all.  The first thing I did was bring in TOT pencils.  Those fat pencils (with fat erasers which help for totally different reasons) have helped to make even the most illegible 4th grade writers semi-decent.  I went shopping around to several local stores (not specifically teacher stores) to find items that could help kids with writing deficiencies.

When I taught kindergarten, getting students to write some days was worse than pulling teeth (which for Kindergarteners is kind of enjoyable due to their belief in the tooth fairy).  On those days, a box of chalk and some sidewalk proved valuable.  Letting kids write their sentences, paragraphs, thinking maps, ideas in chalk on the large scale of a sidewalk can help them to view the process as fun and don't worry about having nothing to grade - take a quick snapshot of their work before the rain comes. This particular chalk cost $1.00 at a Dollar Tree Store.

These two items I thought could potentially be used together.  In writing, it is often what is written that is key, not how it is conveyed.  For those reluctant writers, have the letters already sorted and the student can string together their words or sentences.  Take pictures of the work and keep as a record (or teach the student to do so).  These items together were found at Michael's (prices shown in the photos).

Who doesn't love color?  Sometimes, writing with a pencil can be monotonous and boring.  Break out the markers and it's a party!  Break out poster board and you have a festival!  Teach the students how to use the colors as tool (simply to make sure they don't spend all their time alternating between blue and pink) and let them fly.  You may even end up with some illustrations. Found these at Michael's, but they can be picked up at Wal-Mart the week before school starts for less than a dollar a pack.

These were found for $1.00 at Dollar Tree

Stamps can help take the pressure off of forming the letters, and leave the creativity behind.  Make sure that students understand the purpose of the stamps and help them to work on choosing the letters as quickly as possible so they don't forget what they are writing.  Found at Michael's priced at marked. 

This could be used on a much larger scale (as with the sidewalk chalk).  Found at Dollar Tree Stores for $1.00 a pack.

These pens are much larger than a regular pen and may be able to provide the motivation (and even some help with OT issues due to the size of the grip)  for reluctant writers.  Found for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree)

This is just fun!  Students could potentially write on their own desks (as long as you get it off really quickly).  A similar idea could be to spread shaving cream over their desks and have them write.  Imagine the ease with which to correct a mistake would be (no pressure)!  Don't forget to take photos of student work for records.

Sometimes it isn't the utensil that is the problem, but the writing surface.  Change dimension, change lines, change the color of the lines or the thickness.  Use a highlighter to accent where to write.  This school shaped paper was $1.00 at Dollar Tree.

DailyLit

I'm a pretty avid reader.  I mostly read for enjoyment (there is lots of fluff like Janet Evanovich and Stephenie Meyer and happy endings like Rick Riordan in my personal library, along with anything by or about Jane Austen that I can get my hands on to keep me me a semi-respectable reader).  However, thanks to an assignment, I am working on becoming even more respectable.

I signed up and join the DailyLit website which sends 5-minutes worth of reading from a book to my email (which I check on my phone) everyday.  I chose Emma (one of the few Jane Austen works I haven't finished), and read each snippet every day.  At first, I thought that in my already busy schedule this would be just another unwelcome thing to check off my list.  However, I find that I am now looking forward to my little treat.  I scheduled it at the time I leave work because there is a LONG light I have to sit at that catches me every day.  I can usually finish my reading by the time it turns green!

Not only has the little snippet added a little written joy to my life, it is not the drag I had anticipated. 

Audio Books

Recently, a friend of mine lent me a very saucy Evanovich-co-written book called Full Bloom by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes to list to as an audio book (against my most prolific arguments) on my LONG drive to work every morning (and the same drive home).  I usually enjoy listening to music on my drive (no cell phone, not even radio - there must be NO talking after all the hearing and talking I have done all day).  To appease my friend (and to finish this post) I ended up listening to the story as merely an experiment to monitor my reaction to audio books.  As I am a reading purist, I had a feeling my reaction was going to be skewed.

The first day, I, against my aforementioned opinions, I began getting really into the storyline.  It was very basic, easy to follow, and the reader had LOTS of voices.  I was immediately reminded of when I was a child and my mom would read aloud to me.  Even when I was older and could read on my own, I would always hone in on the story she would read to my younger sister.  There is just something about hearing someone else's emphasis on words. 

As the week continued, I found myself taking a longer way home, sitting in my driveway, and waiting to pump gas because I wanted to hear more of the story.  I also found that some of the voices that I had heard read to me were making their way into the stories I read to my class (the book Dying To Meet You by Kate Klise really benefited from the voices I picked up from the reader).  I was able to make clear pictures in my head from what I heard and found that I was more focused on the story (which may or may not have helped my driving).

The reservations that I had heading in were all removed.  I may not be ready to trade in my book shelves for an iPod, but I'm not going to turn away a good read if it comes in the form of sound.